BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Another trouble is brewing in the Osun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party following a fresh order given by an Osun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Jesa which recognised officers of the party elected in the 215 wards under the immediate past state chairman of the party as those eligible to participate in this week’s governorship primary of the party.
The primary is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
An Ikirun High Court had affirmed Soji Adagunodo, the incumbent National Vice Chairman, South West PDP, as the chairman of the party in the state. Adagunodo’s executive had supervised a ward congress and elected officers ahead of the party’s governorship primary.
But the leadership of the PDP had ignored the Ikirun court order and announced Sunday Bisi as the acting chairman of the party in the state. While Bisi controls a faction of the party, Adagunodo’s man, Wale Ojo, operates another faction.
Bisi had recently supervised another ward congress last week and elected officers that would participate in the Tuesday primary.
In what appeared like a threat to the planned delegate primary, Justice A. Aderibigbe of Ijebu-Jesa High Court, on Thursday, while ruling on an exparte application brought by 31 ward chairmen from 25 local government areas “elected at the 25 September 2021 ward congress supervised by Adagunodo,” said the elected ward executive officers during Adagunodo’s tenure as chairman of the party, are the authentic people permitted to vote delegates at the party’s governorship primary scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
The defendants in the latest suit are the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
A copy of the enrollment of order read, “Upon hearing the motion exparte, an affidavit of Mr Adedokun Ademola, male, Nigerian, Christian, adult, Ward 1, Egbedore Local Government Area, Osun State, sworn and filed at High Court registry, Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, on the 3rd day of March 2022, and after hearing Mr Edmund Z. Biriomoni for the applicant who moved his application, the court then ordered as follows:
“An order of mandatory interim injunction of this court is granting, recognising the ward executive officers elected on the 25th of September, 2021 in the following wards listed as (a) – (y) on this application as the only authentic and/ or authorised elected ward executive officers permitted to vote delegates at the party’s governorship primary scheduled to take place on the 8th of March, 2022, the state congress, state assembly primary, National Assembly primary and presidential primary respectively in full compliance with the judgment of the court delivered on the 22nd of November, 2021 affirming all actions taken by Hon. Olasoji Adagunodo as the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Osun State chapter which includes the conduct of the ward executive congress on the 25th of September, 2021, pending the determination of the motion on notice.
“The plaintiffs/applicants are ordered to effect the service of the motion on notice for a mandatory interlocutory injunction on the defendants/respondents before the return date. “The return date shall be Thursday, 10/03/2022.”
To this end, some political watchers have said that the polarised party may end up having a parallel primary if the latest court order would not be adhered to.
The Bisi-led faction is said to have insisted that it would hold the primary despite the court’s nullification of their elected officers.
Meanwhile, the faction of the PDP loyal to Senator Ademola Adeleke has described the injunction nullifying the delegate congress of the party as ineffective.
The party’s Director of Media and Publicity, Oladele Oluwabamiji, while speaking with newsmen on the matter, said the exercise is an abuse of court process, saying the court, contrary to it power, is meddling in party affairs.
“Such injunction does not hold water, as far as we are concerned. We have a Supreme Court declaration that the court cannot dabble into the affair of a political party. We know that some elements in the party are trying to carry out hatchet job for APC.
“We have already moved ahead of their antics. The national body of our party will react to that. We will handle it and react appropriately.
“We are going ahead with our primaries on Tuesday. I can only advise the national body of our party which conducts delegate congress, including the one in question to be firm with its decision. The party leadership in Osun does not manufacture delegates. The national body will come with the appropriate list”, said Oluwabamiji.
He added that the Appellate Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State had already adjudicated over the matter, nullifying the congress held by the former party chairman.
